Sears was bought by Kmart in 2004, and both Kmart and Sears were smart in the early days and bought most of the property they opened stores on. They are actually one of the biggest realty holding companies in the world. It is really the only thing that has kept them in business for the last decade. We had 2 big Kmarts here, one closed about a decade ago and the land was sold off, and the other closed about 8 months ago, which is about 4 acres of some of the best retail property in the city. I am guessing that soon that area will be home to a slew of strip-mall stores (looks like the property is already sold off). The Sears is still kicking, but when you go in you wonder how they are still in business.. The shelves are barely stocked, the place is just plain dirty, and the staff acts like they are going to close the doors any minute. Their stock is way down this year and they are in the process of cutting a billion dollars per year in operating costs.
My dad has had the same problems with his fitbit, he is on his third and had an issue getting his first two exchanged. He finally just bought a new one at the end of last year and when the replacement finally came in for his last one a few months later, he gave it to my mom to replace her first one that broke. I got one for my GF at Christmas and it is still holding up, but we will see. My brother had to replace one already, but the rest of the family has had pretty good luck with them. Same problems - usually with the band..